By Andrew Marini ’13
THE ROUNDUP

“Ted” – Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale
8.5 out of 10

“Ted” puts a new spin on comedy, and delivers with a film full of awkwardness and utter hilarity.

The power of a wish seems to be more significant than ever when John Bennett (Wahlberg), a child with no friends, wishes for his teddy bear to come to life. To his surprise his bear does just that, drawing mass media attention and turning Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) into a celebrity.

MacFarlane is known by most for being the voice of Peter and Stewie Griffin in the animated sitcom “Family Guy.”

But like always, after a while even the biggest celebrities disappear, which is exactly what happens to Ted.

Many years past and John and Ted are still as inseparable as ever but this starts to become a problem for John’s girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis), who feels it’s time for Ted to move out.

As the film progresses so does the vulgarity and sheer awkwardness of a talking bear doing everyday things such as going to work, decorating his house and throwing parties with friends.

Cameos are a staple in this film as appearances are made by Norah Jones, Sam Jones, Tom Skerritt and Ryan Reynolds.

The only critique I could make is the overuse of 1980’s humor.

John and Ted grew up watching the 1980’s television show “Flash Gordon” and this comes into play constantly throughout the film, though not necessarily in a good way.

The constant 80’s flashbacks and humor I feel take away from the film. The argument could be made that the humor is used as an attempt to appeal to an older audience; personally though I feel it is a bit quirky and deters the younger audience.

Fair warning, the movie is rated R for language and vulgarity, so it is for audiences 17 and older.

In the end though the amount of comedy this film brings by using an idea that hasn’t been used in years makes it the comedy film to beat in 2012.